Botulinum toxin injections during the COVID-19 epidemic

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Clinical services were severely affected globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to characterize the clinical experience of using botulinum toxin (BTX) injections during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This is a retrospective chart review of patients who received BTX injections from April 2019 to January 2022. RESULTS: A total of 105 patients received an BTX injections, out of which 76 (72.4%) were men. The mean age of the patients was 47.9 ± 15.1 years. The most common indication for receiving BTX injections was dystonia (n = 79; 75.2%), followed by hemifacial spasm (n = 22; 21%) and miscellaneous movement disorders (n = 4; 3.8%). Focal dystonia (n = 45; 57%) was the most frequent form of dystonia, followed by segmental dystonia (n = 24; 30%). The percentage of generalized dystonia and hemidystonia was 12% and 1%, respectively. Cervical dystonia (44.4%), blepharospasm (17.8%), and writer’s cramp (15.6%) were the most frequent forms of focal dystonia. The miscellaneous group included four patients (3.8%) with trigeminal neuralgia, Holmes tremor, dystonic tics, and hemimasticatory spasm. The mean ages of patients in the dystonia, hemifacial spasm, and the miscellaneous groups were 47.7 ± 14.9 years, 49.2 ± 14.0 years, and 44.2 ± 26.0 years, respectively. The mean BTX dose was 131.6 ± 104.1 U. The mean BTX doses for the dystonia group, hemifacial spasm, and the miscellaneous group were 158.7 ± 105.3 U, 40.1 ± 11.3 U, and 100.0 ± 70.7 U, respectively. CONCLUSION: Most patients in our cohort had dystonia, followed by hemifacial spasm. Among the patients with dystonia, most had focal dystonia, with cervical dystonia being the most common movement disorder. The data obtained in our study is important to increase awareness of the effectiveness of BTX injections in patients with chronic disorders.